impediment
obstacle or hindrance
Roots
- in- / im- (in/into): in, into, within, or on
- ped: foot
Other words with the ped root
- expedient: practical or convenient, sometimes at moral cost
- expedite: to speed up or make easier
- expedition: journey or organized undertaking
- impede: to hinder or block progress
- pedal: foot-operated lever or control
- pedestrian: ordinary, dull, or literally traveling on foot
Ped gives foot. An impediment gets in the feet of action, so progress trips or slows down.
Fear became the main impediment to progress.
Impediment is obstacle with a walking image. Something is in the way of movement: a rule, fear, injury, missing document, or bad habit.
The word feels less abstract if you picture a foot catching on something. The plan wants to move, but the impediment interrupts the step.